Interview: Giants 1st Pick Mathias Kiwanuka

Mathias Kiwanuka answered questions for the media after being selected by the Giants. He says he was a little suprised about the pick.

Q: Were you surprised at all by the pick?

A: I was a little bit surprised. I was waiting throughout the whole draft
and knew somebody would take me, I just didn't know who. When it got to that point I was surprised that the Giants
took me but I wasn't surprised that I went.

Q: Did the Giants show a lot of interest in you during the process?

A: I interviewed with them once before. Between the Senior Bowl, Combine
and the individual workouts I had interviewed with almost every single team in the league so it's kind of hard for me
to get a feel for which teams were actually looking at me hard.

Q: What did they tell you about how you'd fit in with the other defensive ends?

A: They just told me not to worry about it and to come in and play hard
and they'd find a spot for me. It's kind of the same situation that I went into Boston College with and I'm assuming
that the New York Giants felt like they saw a good athlete that they couldn't pass up on. From my standpoint I'm not
exactly sure how I'll fit in, I just know that I will somewhere.

Q: You injured your knee last year against Virginia? Was it against
D'Brickashaw Ferguson?

A: D'Brickashaw wasn't playing. It was his backup. In my opinion that's
kind of why this injury happened because the player didn't necessarily feel like he could match up against me. It was
an unfortunate incident but I've put it in the past and I'm ready to move on. My knee is healthy now and I'm looking
forward to just playing football

Q: What was the damage to your knee?

A: I sprained my MCL. I missed one game and then I was fine after that.

Q: Did you have any surgery in the off-season?

A: No

Q: Did you have a team you were hoping to end up with?

A: To tell you the truth, not really. I just wanted to play for an NFL
team and from there I just wanted to go as high as I could. Throughout the whole interview process they're looking at
you and you don't have an opportunity to scout the organization the way you do when you are going into college. All
the teams that I met with were good solid teams and I was happy that I had the chance to interview with them and I was
just looking forward to getting a chance to play.

Q: Not many defensive ends get to join two Pro Bowlers in their rookie year.
What do you think of having Osi and Strahan as teammates?

A: I think it's a great opportunity and in a lot of ways it's going to be
an honor to play with guys of that caliber. Hopefully a couple of years down the line people will be talking about me
the way they talk about them. For now I'm going to try to learn everything I can, play hard and try to find my spot
on the field.

Q: You have put a lot of weight on in the past few years; do you still think
you can add more to your frame?

A: Yes, if that's what coach asks me to do then I'll be able to do that. I
have no problem adding or losing weight at this point. I feel like I'm in a real flexible spot.